Today's Scripture
create in me a clean heart- Psalm 51
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Psalm 32 Psalm 51 Psalm 86 Psalm 122 (CEB)
Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.
7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
and sinners will come back to you.
14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
If I gave an entirely burned offering,
you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.
You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
18 Do good things for Zion by your favor.
Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
What does this passage mean to me/us
I remember the first time I heard this Psalm. Of course, knowing that this was a prayer of repentance after David was condemned for his adultery, made the prayer real, but I think that I had a heart of repentance and desire to live pure.
Compared to when I had that heart, and where I am in life, is completely different. At the same time, I don’t consider myself being any holier than that time I first had that desire. Then I question, where is that heart? Where did it disappear?
How can I ever say that I am okay or holy in the sight of our Lord? And if not, why don’t I have that desire, anymore?
Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
Prayer
Lord, create in me a clean heart. Help me desire your holiness everyday. In Christ name, AMEN.t
Click to subscribe to our Daily Devotion.
You will receive a devotion in your inbox every morning.